Today is the anniversary of an article published in the show-business magazine Variety that featured a new word. The article published on August 13, 1950 used the term disc jockey for the first time, reporting the phenomenon of New York radio hosts selecting and playing phonograph records for an eager audience of young fans of popular music. The term stuck, sometimes abbreviated as DJ or deejay. DJ is an example of an Americanism, an English word or expression that is born in the U.S.A. and that is used in the writing and speech of Americans.

The book America in So Many Words by David K. Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf documents Americanisms from the 1600s to the end of the 20th century. For each year, the authors select a single representative Americanism that was “newly coined or newly prominent.” Looking at the words and the background of each is a reminder that every English word is like a fossil or an archeological artifact that reveals the attitudes and trends of the age in which it was coined.

The below list of Americanisms from 1949 to 1960, for example, gives interesting insights into the characteristics of post-war America; the list also foreshadows several political, cultural, social, and economic trends that would emerge in the second half of the 20th century.

1949 cool

1950 DJ

1951 rock and roll

1952 Ms.

1953 UFO

1954 Fast Food

1955 hotline

1956 brinkmanship

1957 role model

1958 Murphy’s Law

1959 software

1960 sit-in (1)

If English is the global language of the 21st century, then it is certainly American English which is the most influential variety of English. Whereas the English language of the British Empire dominated and propagated English around the world in the first half of the 20th century, American English, since the end of World War II, has exported English even farther than the Brits, via satellite and computer technology.

As early as 1780, John Adams envisioned this linguistic American Revolution:

English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last or French is in the present age. The reason of this is obvious, because the increasing population in America, and their universal connection and correspondence with all nations will, aided by the influence of England in the world, whether great or small, force their language into general use.

One aspect that characterizes the American variety of English is its brevity. Americanisms are typically single syllable words or at least single syllable compounds. Americanisms include a variety of classifications that produce words that are short and sweet: Americanisms are clipped words (such as fan from fanatic), blends(such as motel from motor + hotel), abbreviations (such as Ms. from mistress), initialisms (such as UFO from Unidentified Flying Object), and acronyms (such as AWOL from absent without leave).

In fact, even the word acronym is an Americanism that emerged from the government and military build-up of World War II to give Americans a way to compress multiple-word expressions into easy-to-communicate small packages. This Americanism uses Greek roots: acro- meaning top, peak, or initial and -nym meaning name. Using the initial letters of words, acronyms condense names, titles, or phrases into single words, such as radar for radio detection and ranging.

Born in the U.S.A.

Given the number of letters and a brief definition, see if you can identify the Americanisms below. None are more than four letters long:

Three-letter word in response to someone stating to obvious.

A three-letter clipped word that emerged from rap music and its performers’ desire for respect.

Two-letter initialism that reflects the American faith in the ability to measure anything, including the quality of a person’s gray matter.

A three-letter clipped word that refers to any liquid, especially a sticky one.

A frequently used two-letter initialism with two different meanings. The first came out of the world of technology; the second meaning came out of the multicultural movement.

A two-letter initialism that refers to American soldiers.

A four-letter acronym that evolved from the Civil War to refer to soldiers who fled the battlefield or their assigned posts.

A three-letter initialism that reflects the American tendency to live life at a fast pace and to get things done in a hurry.

Today’s Challenge: Yankee Doodle LexiconBased on your best guesses, what are some examples of words or expressions that are Americanisms, that is words or expressions that emerged from American English and the culture and history of the Unites States? Select a single word or phrase, and do some research to verify whether or not it is an Americanism. Once you have identified one, do some research to determine the etymology of the word or phrase. Write an extended definition of the word that includes its definition, evolution, and history. (Common Core Writing 2)

The following are some examples:

bottom line

workaholic

Watergate

soundbite

stealth

gridlock

wannabe

yuppie

soccer mom

millennium bug

Quote of the Day: Thus the American, on his linguistic side, likes to make his language as he goes along, and not all the hard work of his grammar teachers can hold the business back. A novelty loses nothing by the fact that it is a novelty; it rather gains something, and particularly if it meets the national fancy for the terse, the vivid, and, above all, the bold and imaginative. —H. L. Mencken

Today is the anniversary of the British release of the Beatles album Help!, the soundtrack of their second film by the same title.

The title song, like most Beatles songs, is credited to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, but it was primarily a Lennon composition. John Lennon explained that the song was written during the height of Beatlemania and was a literal cry for help.

The covers of both the British and the American albums show the Fab Four standing with their arms outstretched to signal semaphore letters. Strangely the letters do not spell out H – E – L -P; instead, they spell N – V – U – J.

The Beatles second film, a James Bond spoof, was not as well received as their critically acclaimed first film A Hard Day’s Night. The music of the film, however, revealed the Beatles maturing songwriting talent with such songs as “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” “Ticket to Ride,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” and “Yesterday.” The varied tempos of the songs and the lyrics, more sophisticated than those on previous albums, showed that the Beatles were moving beyond “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”

The words help and yeah are both interjections: words or phrases that express emotion but have no grammatical connection to the rest of a sentence. One of the most overlooked and underrated parts of speech, interjections are an important part of the way we communicate. Interjections are the one part of speech that is definitely a significant part of our everyday speech. One example is the simple phone greeting hello. Today we take it for granted, but when phones first appeared there was no standard greeting. In fact, the phone’s inventor Alexander Graham Bell advocated the nautical Ahoy! Another famous inventor, Thomas Edison lobbied for hello. Bell got final credit for inventing the phone, but Edison’s choice of interjection prevailed.

The book ZOUNDS! A Brower’s Dictionary of Interjections is a catalog of over 500 interjections, their definitions and origins. Where else can you learn that there are a total of 109 two-letter words allowable for Scrabble, and that 23 of those two-letter words are interjections:

ah, aw, ay, bo, eh, er, fy, ha, hi, ho, io, lo,

my, oh, oi, ow, sh, st, ta, um, ur, ou, yo

The book, written by Mark Dunn and illustrated by Sergio Aragones, gives fascinating and funny background explanations for each interjection.

Here is a small A-Z sample of some of the interjections featured. You can also watch the unforgettable School House Rock video.

aha

bravo

check

definitely

eureka

far-out

gadzooks

hi

I declare

jeepers

knock-knock

la-di-da

my bad

no soap

O.K.

please

quiet

rats

sorry

thanks

uff-da

very well

way to go

yadda-yadda

zounds (1)

Read each of the famous interjections below and see if you can identify the name of the person or character who made it famous.

“Eureka!”

“Badabing-badaboom”

“Stuff and nonsense!”

“Bah! Humbug!”

“Fiddle-dee-dee !”

Leapin’ lizards!”

“Nanoo, nanoo”

“Dyn-O-Mite!”

“Bully!” (1)

Today’s Challenge: Wow! The Interjection Hall of Fame!What are your favorite interjections — exclamatory blurt-outs or quips? Brainstorm a list of interjections you use or ones that have been used by others. They may be famous (cowabunga!), familiar (yeah, right!), or original to you. Select the one interjection you like the best, and write an explanation of what it is, how it is used, and what makes it so special. (Common Core Writing 2)

Quote of the Day: If language were some beautiful, intricately woven rug, interjections might be those end tassels that knot and mat and collect all the cat hair. -Mark Dunn

Today is the anniversary of the introduction of Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart. The first number one song on the chart was Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”

Prior to August 4, 1958, Billboard had separate charts for Most Played By Jockeys, Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played in Juke Boxes. The new Hot 100 list combined the Best Sellers and the Most Played By Jockeys lists into a single chart. Because Jukeboxes were becoming less popular, their numbers were not included (1).

The linguistic equivalent of Billboard’s Hot 100 would have to be Word Spy’s Top 100 Words . Created by technical writer Paul McFedries, Word Spy is a website devoted to neologisms. Neologisms are new words — words that have appeared in print multiple times, but that are not in the dictionary.

Word Spy gives the armchair linguist a peek behind the lexical curtain. Visiting this web site is a little like watching a preseason football practice: you get to see all the players (words) on the field, but you’re not sure which ones will make the final cut. In the case of neologisms, the final cut is making it into the dictionary. The lexicographers at the Oxford English Dictionary do their work behind the scenes, and most neologisms have the life span of the common house fly. In contrast, Word Spy makes lexicography democratic: you get to see all the words, it’s free, and McFedries even accepts reader submissions.

Here are a couple of examples for neologisms from Word Spy:

aireoke (air.ee.OH.kee) n. Playing air guitar and singing to prerecorded music; playing air guitar in a public performance. Also: air-eoke. [Blend of air guitar and karaoke.]

Manilow method n. The discouragement of loitering in public places by broadcasting music that is offensive to young people, particularly the songs of singer Barry Manilow.

In addition to words and definitions, Word Spy also provides pronunciations, citations, and notes on each word. WARNING: Reading this site can become addictive! (2)

Brave New Words

See if you can match up the 8 neologisms from Word Spy with the 8 definitions numbered below.

freegan

buzzword bingo

godcasting

NOPE

Google bombing

Drink the Kool-Aid

fauxhawk

male answer syndrome

n. A person or attitude that opposes all real estate development or other projects that would harm the environment or reduce property values.

n. A hairstyle in which a strip of hair across the top of the head is longer and higher than the hair on the remainder of the head.

n. A person, usually a vegan, who consumes only food that is obtained by foraging, most often in the garbage of restaurants, grocery stores, and other retailers.

v. To become a firm believer in something; to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly.

n. Setting up a large number of Web pages with links that point to a specific Web site so that the site will appear near the top of a Google search when users enter the link text.

n. The tendency for some men to answer a question even when they don’t know the answer.

n. A word game played during corporate meetings. Players are issued bingo-like cards with lists of buzzwords such as paradigm and proactive. Players check off these words as they come up in the meeting, and the first to fill in a “line” of words is the winner.

pp. Podcasting an audio feed with a religious message (2).

Today’s Challenge: One Hundred on OneWhat is your favorite word? What makes your word so interesting, distinctive, and special? Brainstorm a list of your favorite words. Select the single word you would rate as your favorite, and write 100 words on why your word is so special and what specifically makes it your favorite. Do a bit of research to get some details on the etymology or history of your word so that you can give your reader some details that go beyond just the obvious. (Common Core Writing 1)

Quotation of the Day:The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express. –Alexis de Tocqueville

Today is the anniversary of a letter that changed history. The letter, dated August 2, 1939, was written by physicists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard; it was addressed to the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The letter’s content warned the president of the Nazi’s possible use of uranium for the development of atomic weapons.

The story behind this historic letter that led to the Manhattan Project begins in Germany, which prior to 1933 was a hotbed of scientific inquiry: Germany had been awarded 99 Nobel Prizes in science compared to the United States’ 6 Nobel Prizes. The rise of anti-semitism and of Adolf Hitler, however, caused many Jewish scientists to flee Germany.

One of those who fled was physicist Leo Szilard, who relocated to England. While sitting at a London traffic light in 1933, he had an epiphany: theoretically, the atom could be split, creating a chain reaction of enormous power.

Szilard’s idea moved from theory to fact in 1939 when German scientists successfully split an atom. The fact that German scientists now had the knowledge of the potentially destructive power of the atom in their hands alarmed Szilard.

Traditionally scientists around the world published their breakthroughs for all to see. Szilard was afraid that the German scientists were using this information to develop a bomb. His fears were heightened when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939 and stopped all exports of uranium ore from the occupied country.

He urged scientists outside of Germany to delay publication of their findings in fission-related areas, and he initiated a meeting with his former teacher Albert Einstein.

Einstein, like Szilard, was a Jew and had fled Germany during the rise of Hitler. By 1939 Einstein’s theory of relativity had made him an international celebrity — just the kind of name recognition that Szilard needed to get his alarm bell heard by world leaders.

Szilard met with Einstein in New York on July 30. Einstein dictated the letter to Szilard in German, and Szilard later translated it into a typed final draft for Einstein’s signature.

The letter’s opening read as follows:

Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations. (2)

Even Einstein’s signature, however, did not guarantee that the letter would get the attention it deserved. Einstein and Szilard entrusted the letter to Alexander Sachs, an unofficial advisor to F.D.R., but Roosevelt was preoccupied with the growing war in Europe, and Sachs was unable to get an appointment with him until October 1939.

To persuade Roosevelt, Sachs used a historical analogy. He told Roosevelt about an American inventor who met with the French emperor during the Napoleonic Wars. The inventor offered to build a fleet of steamships that could invade England regardless of the weather. Napoleon was incredulous, unable to think beyond ships with sails. He sent the American away. The shortsightedness, arrogance, and lack of imagination of Napoleon saved England and sealed Napoleon’s fate. It was a powerful analogy, and despite the fact that it took time for the Manhattan Project to get off the ground, it was the letter and Sach’s persuasiveness that led to the development of the atomic bomb that Harry Truman had dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Ironically, near the end of the war, the Allies discovered that the Germans were at least two years away from developing the bomb. Furthermore, both Szilard and Einstein objected to the United States’ use of the bomb. Even though Einstein did not work directly on the Manhattan Project, he called his decision to sign the letter to President Roosevelt the “one great mistake in my life” (1).

Today’s Challenge: Missives With a Mission

What are examples of the most urgent issues in today’s world, either at the local, national, or international levels? If you were to select one urgent issue, what would it be, and how would you explain your reasoning behind why the issue is so urgent? Select a single issue and write an open letter to the president or other official who has the power to act (See February 3: Open Letter Day). Explain in your letter what the issue is and why it is specifically an urgent issue that should be addressed immediately. The purpose of your letter is to persuade the addressee and the general audience that your issue is, in fact, an urgent issue that needs to be addressed immediately. (Common Core Writing 1 – Argument)

Quotation of the Day:We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last we destroy them out of discretion, and so disappears the most beautiful, the most immediate breath of life, irrecoverable for ourselves and for others. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Today is the anniversary of the coinage of the word smog. On July 27, 1905 the London Globe reported: “At a meeting of the Public Health Congress Dr. Des Voeux did a public service in coining a new word for the London fog, which was referred to as smog, a compound of smoke and fog” (1). Smog is just one example of a class of English words know as blends (a.k.a. portmanteau words), such as spork (spoon + fork), or brunch (breakfast + lunch).

The London fog of Dickens and Hollywood was certainly less romantic than it appeared. The major culprit of the city’s dark fog was burning coal; it seems appropriate that a physician would be the one to appear on the scene to name the culprit and to try to clear it up.

When it comes to writing, there is another kind of SMOG know as the Simple Measure Of Gobbledygook. This type of SMOG, an acronym, is a test of a text’s readability, based on a formula devised by reading researcher G. Harry McLaughlin. McLaughlin says he designed his formula in 1969 BC [Before Computers], to give educators an easy method of calculating the grade level of a given text.

The readability formula works like this: First, select three, 10-sentence samples from the text. Second, count the words in the text that are 3 or more syllables. Third, estimate the count’s square root, and add 3. The resulting number will correspond to the estimated grade-level of the text.

Today, in the age of computers, you can use the SMOG Formula online by simply cutting and pasting your text. This passage, for example, comes in at 11.02 on the SMOG Index.

The final word in the SMOG acronym, gobbledygook refers to more than just multisyllabic words. It means unintelligible language, especially jargon or bureaucratese.

The word was coined by Texas lawyer and Democratic Congressman Maury Maverick. He created the word in 1944 when referring to the obscure, smoggy language used by his colleagues. To craft his metaphor, Maverick turned to the turkey since the bird is “always gobbledy gobbling and strutting with ludicrous pomposity.”

It should be noted that word origins ran in the Maverick family. Maury’s grandfather was Samuel Maverick, the Texas rancher who became famous and eponymous for his unconventional practice of not branding his cattle. Of course today a maverick is anyone who stands outside the crowd, or herd, defying the status quo (3).

One organization defying SMOG is the Plain English Campaign based in New Mills, Derbyshire, England. Their stated mission is to fight “for crystal-clear language and against jargon, gobbledygook and other confusing language.”

Each year the Plain English Campaign presents The Golden Bull Awards for the year’s worst examples of gobbledygook. Here is one example of a 2004 winner:

British Airways for terms and conditions

CHARGES FOR CHANGES AND CANCELLATIONS NOTE – CANCELLATIONS – BEFORE DEPARTURE FARE IS REFUNDABLE. IF COMBINING A NON-REFUNDABLE FARE WITH A REFUNDABLE FARE ONLY THE Y/C/J-CLASS HALF RETURN AMOUNT CAN BE REFUNDED. AFTER DEPARTURE FARE IS REFUNDABLE. IF COMBINING A NON-REFUNDABLE FARE WITH A REFUNDABLE FARE REFUND THE DIFFERENCE /IF ANY/BETWEEN THE FARE PAID AND THE APPLICABLE NORMAL BA ONEWAY FARE. CHANGES/UPGRADES- PERMITTED ANYTIME (4).

Below are examples given by the Plain English Campaign of sentences containing gobbledygook. Each of the three sentences is followed by a clear, concise version. Study each sentence noticing how the three bad versions cloud meaning with gobbledygook:

High-quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process.

-Children need good schools if they are to learn properly.

If there are any points on which you require explanation or further particulars we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required by telephone.

-If you have any questions, please ring.

It is important that you shall read the notes, advice and information detailed opposite then complete the form overleaf (all sections) prior to its immediate return to the Council by way of the envelope provided.

-Please read the notes opposite before you fill in the form. Then send it back to us as soon as possible in the envelope provided.

Today’s Challenge: SMOG Alert

Why do some writers write sentences clogged by gobbledygook, and more importantly, what can they do to prevent writing this way? Write a PSA in clear, simple, forceful language that provides the audience with a clear warning against using gobbledygook as well as some specific tips on how to avoid it. (Common Core Writing 1)

Quotation of the Day:The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. -George Orwell

Today is the anniversary of Tiger Woods’ victory at the 2000 British Open. Woods won by shooting a record 19 under par at the course in St. Andrews, Scotland. Certainly winning a major professional golf tournament in record fashion is noteworthy, but what made Woods’ victory extraordinary was the fact that it made him, at 24 years-old, the youngest golfer ever to win all four of golf’s major championships: the British, the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA.

Later when Woods won the 2001 Masters, he became the only player to win consecutive titles in all four major championships. Because he did not win all four titles in the same year, however, his accomplishment was dubbed The Tiger Slam. No player has ever won all four of the major tournaments in the same year (1).

Your first guess as to the origin of grand slam might take you to the baseball term for a bases loaded home run that scores four runs. While this is probably the most common use of the term, it actually originated in card games, bridge for example, where one side wins all thirteen tricks. It is also a prominent term in tennis, referring to the four national championships: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open, and the U.S. Open (2).

Wherever the term grand slam is used, it usually relates to superlative achievements in high stakes competition. Also, at least in the modern sense, it has come to be associated with things that come in fours. Maybe there is something magical about the number four; after all, it is the only number in the English language which when spelled out has the same number of letters as the number it represents. Look at the groups of four below, and see if you can identify the category into which all four fit.

How would you complete the following?: There are four things you need for a successful _______________ : 1) _______________, 2) ______________, 3) ______________, and 4)______________. Brainstorm several topics first.

Below are ten to get you started:

camping trip or vacation

freshman year in high school or college

job search or car purchase

basketball team or football coach

marriage or friendship

website or blog

birthday party or retirement party

career in real estate or career in

interview or resume

essay or speech

Then, identify the four ingredients of success that you want to explore. Make sure that your four things are laid out in a parallel fashion. For example:

Four things you need for a successful freshman year are 1) a plan to fight procrastination, 2) a focus on your long term goals, 3) a willingness to work hard, and 4) an ability to evaluate your own learning.

Notice how each of the four ingredients begins in the same way, making the four elements parallel and coherent for the reader. Once you have this basic thesis sentence formed, explain each of the four things in detail, one at a time, using evidence and examples for each.

Quotation of the Day:Newspapers should come in four sections: Truth, Probability, Possibility, and Lies. -Thomas Jefferson

–

Answers: 1. the four gospels 2. the four Beatles 3. the four members of the Fantastic Four 4. four types of sentences 5. the Four Freedoms (from F.D.R.’s famous speech) 6. the four patriarchs 7. the four ghosts in Pac-Man 8. the four fingers 9. the four ancient elements 10. the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 11. the four food groups 12. the four winds 13 the four oceans

Today is the anniversary of the first true space flight in 1962. Air Force pilot Bob White took the experimental aircraft the X-15 to a record altitude of 314,750 feet, pushing the envelope and breaking the 50 mile boundary separating the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. White’s flight established a world record that still stands for altitude achieved in a winged aircraft. For his feat of daring, Walker became the first pilot to earn astronaut wings (1).

The word astronaut comes from Greek: astron, “star” + nautes, “sailor.” The Russian equivalent is cosmonaut, which is also from Greek: kosmos, “universe” + nautes, “sailor.”

Today we hear the expression push the envelope in a variety of contexts relating to attempts to “exceed the limits of what is normally done”; in other words, attempts to be innovative, as in: The computer company is trying to get its software engineers topush the envelope in developing a new approach to computing. The three-word idiom comes from the field of aviation and was originally used to describe the exploits of pilots like Bob White who attempted, but did not always succeed, in pushing the limits of a plane’s capabilities either in speed or altitude. Within the envelope, the pilot was safe; beyond it, there was uncertainty and risk (2).

Push the envelope is just one of many three-word idioms (expressions that don’t make sense when translated literally) in English that follow the pattern: verb + “the” + noun, as in “bite the bullet.” Here are five more examples, all beginning with the verb “take”:

take the plunge

take the heat

take the Fifth

take the fall

take the rap

Given the first letter of the verb and the noun in each idiom, see if you can complete the three-word idioms below:

w_______ the s_________

r________ the g________

p________ the t________

b________ the h _______

c________ the f _______

c________ the m _______

h________ the c _______

p________ the f _______

s________ the c _______

s________ the f _______

Today’s Challenge: Take the Proverbial Plunge

What are some examples of figurative expressions or familiar idiomatic phrases that follow the pattern Verb + “the” + Noun, as in “take the plunge” or “push the envelope”? Brainstorm as many as you can; then, select one and use it as the title of short poem or paragraph. For more examples of three-word phrases see the list below today’s Quotation of the Day. Play around with your expression’s meaning, both literal and figurative, as well as considering the action as expressed in the verb. Compose your poem or paragraph, and use your three-word idiom as its title.

Quote of the Day:Before you push the envelope, open it up and see what’s inside. –L’ Architecte Karp

break the bank, clear the air, cross the Rubicon, draw the line, drink the Kool-Aid, fly the coop, foot the bill, hit the deck, hit the hay, hit the road, hit the jackpot, hit the roof, hit the spot, hold the fort, hold the line, hold the phone, kick the habit, kick the bucket, make the grade, take the Fifth, take the rap, turn the tables

Answers: 1. weather the storm 2. run the gamut or run the gauntlet 3. pass the torch 4. bury the hatchet 5. chew the fat 6. cut the mustard 7. hit the ceiling 8. press the flesh 9. stay the course 10. straddle the fence.

Today is the anniversary of the first veto in American presidential history. On this day in 1792, President George Washington was presented a bill that would apportion representatives among the states, and he vetoed it. The word veto has its roots in Latin, literally translated I forbid. It dates back to the days of the Roman Senate when the Roman tribunes had the power to unilaterally refuse Senate legislation.

For more than 2,000 years, English has borrowed liberally from Latin, the most important language in European history. Long before English was established as a language of note, let alone a global language, Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, and even after the fall of Rome, Latin survived, evolving into what we know today as the Romance Languages: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian. Until the 20th century, Latin was the prestige language of government, religion, and academia. No wonder when a new republic was established in America, it turned to Latin words for its legislative practices and to Latin mottoes for its currency.

As noted by Wilfred Funk in Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories, some Latin words were Anglicized as they were adopted into English, a Germanic tongue. Hundreds of other words, however, came into English with little to no changes in spelling, which is one of the reasons English spelling is so idiosyncratic. Here are some examples of Latin words adopted directly into English: recipe, vim, memorandum, stimulus, vacuum, veto, via, item, exit, minimum, affidavit (1).

Another rich source of English vocabulary is Greek, without which we would not have words like politics, rhetoric, and democracy.

Today’s Challenge: From Government Argot to Political Zingers

When you think of the word “politics” or “government,” what words come to mind? Brainstorm a list of at least ten words you would associate with government and/or politics.

In his Political Dictionary, William Safire explores the meaning and history of over 1800 words and phrases that, like veto, have distinctive meanings in the context of government and politics. The following is a small A to Z sample:

Research one word from Safire’s list or from your own. Define the word, giving examples of how it is used in government and politics, along with some specific examples. Also, research the word’s etymology. Does it come from Greek or Latin, like so many other political words do? Or, does it have a different origin? (Common Core Language 4 – Vocabulary Acquisition and Use)

Quotation of the Day: . . . one ought to recognise that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. -George Orwell in “Politics and the English Language”

On this day in 1862, the Monitor and the Merrimack met at the Battle of Hampton Roads in history’s first duel between ironclad warships.

The USS Merrimack was sunk by Union forces when the Civil War began in April 1861. At that time the Merrimack was a 40-gun wooden frigate. The Confederates raised the ship and rebuilt it, covering it with 4-inch iron armor. The ship was launched in February 1862 and rechristened the CSS Virginia.

The Confederates quickly put the Virginia to work in their effort to break the Union blockade of Southern ports, which had been in effect since the beginning of the war. On March 8, 1862, the Virginia sunk two of the Union’s wooden ships and disabled another, proving that wooden ships had little chance against ironclad vessels.

The Union, however, was ready to answer the Confederate challenge. One month previously it had commissioned its own ironclad, the USS Monitor. The Monitor had a much lower profile than the Merrimack (Virginia), rising only 18 inches from the water. Its flat iron deck featured a 20-foot cylindrical rotating turret with two 11-inch guns.

On the morning of March 9, 1892, the Monitor steamed into Chesapeake Bay, confronting the Merrimack. The two ships battled for four hours, but since the cannon fire simply bounced off the armor of both ships, the battle ended in a draw. The dual ushered in a new era in naval warfare, and soon all the world’s naval warships were constructed with iron (1).

Today’s Challenge: Classic Clash

When you think of classic head to head rivalries, what contestants come to mind? Brainstorm a list of classic rivalries. Your list may include people, literary characters, groups, trademarks, franchises, genres, or anything else that might be considered a classic clash of two opposing forces. Select one of your pairs, and write your case for why one deserves to be declared the single winner of the dual, giving specific reasons and evidence to make your case unsinkable. (Common Core Writing 1 – Argument)

On this day in 1925, Congress authorized the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, located in South Dakota on a mountain that was originally called Six Grandfathers by the Lakota Sioux. The construction of Mount Rushmore began in October 1927 and ended in October 1941. After Congress authorized the mountain memorial, President Calvin Coolidge, a Republican, insisted that in addition to Washington, two Republicans and one Democrat be portrayed.

The sculptor in charge of the project, Gutzon Borglum, selected Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to join Washington. In the process of construction, 450,000 tons of rock were blasted off the mountainside.

Less than one year before the completion of Mt. Rushmore in March 1941, Gutzon Borglum died from an embolism. Borglum’s son, Lincoln Borglum, continued his father’s work until it was completed on October 31, 1941.

One aspect of Mt. Rushmore that Borglum envisioned was never completed. Borglum wanted an inscription in words to accompany the faces of the American presidents. Specifically, he wanted 500 words telling the history of the United States written on the front of the mountain. Borglum wanted these words written not only in English but also in Latin and Sanskrit. In this way Mt. Rushmore would become a new Rosetta Stone, giving future archaeologists an explanation of the history behind the people depicted there.

Initially, Borglum asked President Calvin Coolidge to write the 500 words, but Borglum rejected Coolidge’s submission. A national essay contest was then held in 1934 with more than 100,000 entries. The contest’s winner was a Nebraska student named William Andrew Burkett. Unfortunately just as he had rejected Coolidge’s entry, Borglum also rejected Burkett’s essay. As a result, the mountain was left without inscribed words (1).

Today’s Challenge: Your Rock Stars

Who are the four key individuals within a single field, such as science, philosophy, rock-n-roll, movies, literature, or baseball, who you would enshrine on your Mt. Rushmore? Mt. Rushmore has become a kind of metaphor for the idea of enshrining four specific individuals as the pillars within a certain field. Today, for example, most students of American history recognize Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt among the most important United States presidents. Select a field that you know well, and brainstorm the names of people you consider pillars in their field of expertise. Once you have selected your four, write a brief rationale for each, explaining what made these individuals’ contributions so significant. (Common Core Writing 1 – Argument)

Quotation of the Day: True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation. -George Washington